Today’s comic builds off Monday’s strip where Tom loses his sense of disbelief. People in the forums seemed to enjoy the metaphor, so I’m running with it! I have a storyline mapped out that will carry us through next week! I’m really excited about it because I usually don’t work this far in advance. I think you’ll enjoy the direction we’re going with this, so keep checking the site for the next installment and hang on for the ride!

It should go without saying, by the way, that since I’m tackling a more plot-driven storyline, I probably won’t be making fun of any of the more current releases like Troy and Soul Plane. Not in the comic, at least. Probably in the blogs, though.

You may have noticed the new ad on the right hand side of the comic today. It’s a status bar that reflects all the money the site earns from advertising, merchandise sales and donations. Why is it there? Because I’m trying to get to Wizard World Chicago this August and I need your help. Read here for the whole story. It outlines what I’m doing and why.

The short story is, Wizard World Chicago is one of the largest comic book and independent publisher conventions in the country. I think it would be a great opportunity to introduce Theater Hopper to new readers as well as say “Thank you!” in person to those of you that can make it out to the event! If there is anything you can do to help me meet my goal, you know I would appreciate it. Remember, there are always incentives for donating and we have some great merchandise in stock!

Thank you so much for your support. Today is my 275th strip. I would have never imagined getting this far without you. Let’s see if we can’t push our luck and go a little farther!…

So it’s settled. Cami and Charlie’s triumph over adversity has cemented a bond between them and they are now friends. Deal with it, homies.

But the surly theater owner seemed to let them off the hook without much fuss. Be sure to check back on Friday for an epilogue of sorts. After that, the story that took nearly two months to tell will be OVER!

I made another full-color incentive sketch for you to look at if you vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix. That could be a dangerous habit for me to get in to, but it just felt right for the Lifetime Movie of the Week send-up I was making.

I saw Constantine by myself Monday night and have some thoughts on it, but I want to tie it in to what I finally accomplished with the donator desktop wallpaper. Expect a recap later today. Right now, I want to tell you a different story.

If you came to the site on Monday, you would know that the buzzComix incentive sketch was one of my beagle Truman wearing a birthday hat and blowing a noise maker. I drew it to commemorate his third birthday, which was Tuesday.

I came home Tuesday after work, particularly jazzed from a good day at the office and ready to celebrate with Man’s Best Friend.

Imagine my horror when I went to let Truman out of his crate and discovered this scene:

It’s insane, right?

I don’t know how many of you out there own dogs, but this was a first for me. You can’t tell it from the pictures, but Truman’s crate was right up against the corner of that wall. He had either clawed or chewed a hole about a foot wide and about 6 inches tall through our dry wall!

Needless to say, I was pretty pissed and we didn’t quite get around to celebrating Truman’s birthday properly.

Now, to be fair, we recently moved Truman’s bed into our dining room, out of the kitchen where he had been for three years. So maybe that’s what upset him. Perhaps it was the air vent next to his crate. Who knows? When he was in the kitchen, his crate was no further from a wall or an air vent and he never tried this, so it’s a mystery to us.

It’s hard to be mad at the little guy because he’s just a dog and he doesn’t know better. He’s totally forgotten about the damage he caused when you come home to find about half a pound of drywall all over the carpet and inside his crate. It’s not like you can discipline him two hours after the fact.

Incidentally, I called the veterinarian as a precautionary measure. I didn’t know how much of this dry wall and paint Truman had ingested, if any. The vet told me over the phone that he should be fine, but look for signs of vomiting or diarrhea. If he starts pacing in circles or acting funny in any other way, you know he’s eaten something that disagrees with him.

Well, I’m proud to report that Truman has not fallen ill, so he probably didn’t eat any pieces of the wall. He also ate an entire bowl of food for his dinner, so he’s probably fine.

But it’s when the animal you share your space with commits gross property damage that you start looking at old photos and wish you could have kept him this size forever…